A/N: Happy Sasusaku month and sorry I couldn't upload this earlier! But, in retrospective, this chapter reveals exactly what is under Kabuto's rug, so you kinda have to forgive me. ;)
Also the scene with Sasuke is an introduction to another arc, one that I'm gonna have lots of fun with in the future (both with Sakura and Sasuke, but mostly Sakura's development). You'll seeeee. :)
Your reviews make me smile and give me all the motivation I need when I don't really feel like writing, so please review! (I can't believe this reached 700 follows, btw, what? Thank you so much djfjskfndj.)
Enjoy!
Once the will is resolved, one's spirit is strengthened. Even a peasant's will is hard to deny, but a samurai of resolute will can sway ten thousand men.
- Yoshida Shoin (1830-1859).
When Sakura's feet finally touch solid concrete, the first thing she does is look around, and the first thing she notices is that she can actually look around. Light, though dim, helps illuminate the cave enough for her to distinguish her surroundings.
Candles line the walls, and they only let her know that this place is visited more regularly than she had previously thought. And now, even if she doesn't want to, there's no other way she can excuse this behaviour from Kabuto; he has a secret, underground cave, and she can only imagine what else he may be hiding from her and the country, for that matter.
Sakura lets out the air she has been holding for a while now, expels it through her mouth, and closes her eyes for a second.
When she opens them again, she's already walking around the area and looking for any clues so as to what this is, but there's nothing in the place that could lead her to think it's habitable—not a bed, a desk, or even a chair in sight. There's absolutely nothing that lets her know this could be something he uses as a secret lair, an underground hideout where he plans things she doesn't have a clue of. Hell, she would even expect this to have been an extension to the lab that's upstairs; a lab of sorts where he keeps different herbs and poisons, venoms, and antidotes for whatever malpractices he partakes in outside of the castle.
It's just a large, barren circle with different candles lighting up the place.
She spins on her axis to look around, and there's nothing out of the ordinary. It's just an empty, circular cave with nothing inside. Only that it takes her a while to notice that it's anything but.
She's about to give up when she makes out a difference in the place. It's a darker spot on one side of the wall to her far right, and it could be her imagination, but it seems far deeper and darker than any other spot on the walls around her.
No candle can illuminate what's behind that spot—the size of three humans side by side, as tall as two stacked on top of the other—and that's because all the small candles lining up the walls lead to this one space, and end before they can even reach it.
Sakura turns toward it and stands in front of it, taking careful steps toward what seems like an endless void.
And then she sees it.
Sakura spots the only thing that lays inside this drab, pointless circle. Hanging off the wall, right before she can venture into the darkness facing her, is a dark torch the length of her entire arm.
She knows Kabuto is way taller than her, so she thanks whichever entity made it possible for the torch to be within her reach, and she grabs it with a little more force than necessary. She tests out its weight, moves the end toward one of the candles, and lights it on fire.
She wastes no time and almost trips over the uneven floor in her haste, but finally almost thrusts the flame in the void, and gasps as the circle is not really a circle; at least, not just a darker spot on the wall. What lies ahead is a hallway bathed in the dark, only brightened up by the torch she holds, with no apparent end in sight.
Sakura takes a step forward and stops herself before she can move any further. From where she stands, she looks up and watches the stairs that lead up to whence she came from. With a gulp, she tries to make a decision against the unknown.
This is taking a deeper, darker turn than anticipated, and if Kabuto decides to come back from the village any minute now...
She looks back at the eerie hall, holds the torch tighter in her hand, and treks forward on quick, but hesitant steps.
She needs to make it fast if she wants to see where this leads her, but she can't take too long, or else she'll risk being found out on the first try.
And the last thing she wants to do is alert Kabuto that she finds him suspicious.
With this in mind, she hurries along the stone path.
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Sasuke takes a seat with every major clan head of Fire at a round table, on a nameless, safe village just outside the skirts of Konoha, and speaks when Shikamaru gives him a curt nod from across the room.
There are guards at every door, outside of the tower, and on the perimeters of the small village for added measure—these days, he thinks, no one is really safe.
"Gentlemen, I am glad you could join me today. I trust you had no difficulties along the way," he says, his voice sharply cutting the air around the room of village representatives. It's pleasantries, and because it's pleasantries, nobody says anything and, instead, they offer him a brief bow.
Naruto, who is an icon of endurance and union in the country, faces him directly from across the large round table, and he looks at him with a face unlike him; Sasuke decides seriousness doesn't really fit the blond right there and then.
However, with matters of the country as grave and delicate as these, any wrong move from their part could set off a series of events neither of them want. As for the rest of the people around them, he can't say the same for sure.
Lords of the highest status just below his own title, these are the same people who watched him end Nakamura in cold blood—along with the Daimyō—and these are the people who know not to underestimate him or disrespect him at any cost. The clan heads come from each major Samurai family in each of the big, recognizable villages of the nation. They're a set of six, each made up of a man and his chosen advisor, the man sitting down and the advisor standing next to him at each chair.
Six sets of eyes—plus Naruto and the advisors—look at him, expectant so as to the reason for this meeting. After all, they are to only meet in this magnitude and with such secrecy four times a year, at the start of every new season.
Summer has just started, so there would still be about two more months for the next meeting.
Sasuke meets the eye of every one of the respectable clan heads, and hides his hands under the sleeves of his traditional Samurai attire.
One of them slams his hands on the table, and coughs before speaking up, cutting through the silence with certainty.
"We met not too many nights ago, my lord! What is the reason for this meeting? I have had to leave construction unattended in my village for this very matter!"
"I am sure you must be wondering why I have called you here so soon. I am aware our next meeting was to happen in two months' time, and in another location," he explains, letting his eyes rest on the man who had voiced his concerns previously for a little too long: Akimichi Chōza, a respectable cook and in charge of all trade inside the nation, stares back. "However, this could not wait."
And just like that, the room bursts into something he had not really expected, and is surprised to find.
"My lord, did something happen?"
"Is the country safe?"
"Are we in immediate danger?"
"Lord Uchiha, should we be concerned about this?"
A flurry of small, carefully expressed questions fill the room exactly one second after he delivers the news, and he listens to them for about five more.
When he lifts his hand from under his sleeve, the room immediately falls silent.
Naruto, who has been watching quietly, slams a hand on the table's surface, and gives everyone a look.
"Listen to your leader! We have obviously called you here for a reason. Be patient!" he declares, an angry pull to his lips, a kind of rage shimmering in his eyes.
If Sasuke's amused at the serious tone of his voice, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he gives him an imperceptible, thankful nod and speaks as soon as the room of questioning men quiets down.
He figures, as he's ready to sugarcoat the hard, bitter truth, there's no point in delaying the inevitable—especially, he thinks, since there is no time left to waste.
"I fear Fire could be on the verge of another war," he admits, noticing the confusion and surprise in everyone's eyes, but glad that they aren't interrupting anymore. "I have called you here in hopes of finding a solution to this problem, now that I know it is turning into something bigger than expected."
Sasuke stops talking, sits back, and waits for the room to explode in bouts of panic once more. Instead, all that he finds is a heavy atmosphere and a silence that stretches on for at least a minute; it is, without a doubt, the longest minute he has had to consciously endure.
And then there's a sigh from one of the clan heads, and the fifty-year old man laces his hands together and looks at Sasuke with a frown.
"My lord, is there concrete, substantial proof that this is true?"
"Do you doubt me?"
There's a pause in which Sasuke stares at him and the man in question stares back, then lowers his gaze knowingly. Although the Hyūga have always had a sense of superiority in the village, he's pleased to know Hiashi hasn't lost his more rational mindset, even at his deteriorating age.
"I would never," he admits, then adds to his initial worry. "I would suppose, in order to reach this conclusion and call on such a meeting, my lord must be confident in his findings. However, I was merely intrigued in exactly what this proof could entail."
Sasuke nods once, and leans forward in his seat; subconsciously, every member at the table does the same.
"Very well," he says, breathing in through his nose as he prepares to explain everything—necessary, really, for the clan members to understand the situation and help him devise a plan of action.
He tells them of Orochimaru sneaking in the Council's headquarters, of his Samurai waiting to attack their own leader, and of the doubts he already has about the Council since Danzō's reign. Ultimately, he tells them the truth of his clan's demise, and of what exactly Orochimaru had thrown at him a few months back—gasps, in unison, are heard across the room.
After, the room falls silent; the only thing anyone can hear is Sasuke's laboured breathing, but after recounting facts of his past he hasn't told more than two people before, no one really blames him.
"That being so, I have felt I am out of options, and plan to head into the Council's home soon for answers," he announces with one clear purpose in mind; whoever rejects that idea must help him come up with a better one, and one that doesn't necessarily involve his wife.
Yamanaka Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan, clears his throat and raises his blue eyes to meet Sasuke's.
"Permission to speak, my lord," he inquires, looking beside him for a second at his advisor—a long-legged, blonde woman, with eyes of an icy blue and hair tied back in a high ponytail. She is, Sasuke thinks, the splitting image of a Yamanaka—his daughter, he presumes, from the young look she sports. Is she the next in line for the head?
For a split second, she looks up from her father's gaze and into Sasuke's, and for just a split second, Sasuke sees a level of desperation in her eyes. It's as if, for some reason, she needs to tell him something beyond what she's allowed to.
"Permission granted," Sasuke voices from across the table. He shifts his eyes away from the daughter to Inoichi's after a pause.
"I would not consider attacking the Council alone; it would not be virtuous or beneficial to the nation's fragile state. This said, I suggest that extracting information out of Orochimaru should be your first priority."
"With your help, I suppose," Sasuke prods, glancing at Shikamaru, who represents the Nara clan, and noticing how he's thinking it through just as he is.
"With my help, using any methods necessary, Orochimaru will most certainly reveal his secrets. You will know if your clan's past is as how he says, if he's working with the Council, and of his future plans for the country," Inoichi finishes, a small, triumphant smile gracing the corners of his lips. His daughter sports a smile of her own beside him, proud of this plan they've devised so quickly.
Sasuke hums. It's an option, and he already knows what his advisor is going to say, but he is his advisor for a reason.
"Shikamaru," he voices out without moving his contemplative eyes away from Inoichi.
Every eye at the table turns to look at the Nara clan representative, awaiting what the young genius has to say.
"That could be feasible, yes, given the circumstances we are facing," he says, but shakes his head at something else, deep in his mind.
With a hand on his chin, eyes trained on the table's surface, he speaks.
"Moving against the Council with no incriminating evidence—at least, big enough to catch them red-handed—would be the wrong move. Previously, I had advised the Shogun to allow his wife to pay a visit to the old couple instead," he pauses, and lifts his eyes to see Sasuke's murderous gaze from across the table, daring him to continue talking about something they had disagreed on long ago. "Since they do not know who she is and have never seen her before, they wouldn't do ill on a person who is merely trying to praise the Council. Through this praise, with some luck, she would be able to learn of their secrets."
Sasuke seethes in his seat at the idea of letting his wife go off into danger's clutches on the premise of mere luck.
Inuzuka Kiba, known for his great tracking ability, frowns whilst petting his life-long dog, Akamaru.
"So then, she would pretend she's there to learn from them? As in, her pretense would be that she's trying to be an elder like them in the future?" Kiba asks.
"What! Sasuke, you're gonna risk Sakura-chan's life like that?" Naruto lashes out, standing for a second as soon as he catches on to what everyone's been talking about.
Sasuke gives him a look, however, and he slowly sinks back into his chair.
Hiashi, who has led his clan for years on end, and who specialises in espionage and close hand combat, speaks up with the nonchalance known to men of his own.
"Infiltration is the Hyūga clan's forte, Nara. My lord's wife may be walking into a trap she may not know how to get out of."
Shikamaru, as if expecting this, gives him a crooked smile. "I am aware, but people from your clan are too recognizable. The clan elders would know who they're dealing with before sharing any secrets to any possible student of theirs."
"So then, have the Hyūga train lady Uchiha in the art of espionage."
Everyone tries to locate the feminine voice amongst them, some with their mouths open at the audacity of the girl—advisors have never, and should never speak up over their clan heads. Yet this girl, during her first meeting ever, manages to speak without a sense of shame in her voice or face.
"Precisely, Ino," Shikamaru responds.
Sasuke watches as Shikamaru's eyes look over at the girl's, and gives her a—a wink? Sasuke stares, confused at the exchange, but it's gone as soon as it happened.
"With my lord's approval, this could be the best option. That is, if the plan with lord Orochimaru fails, although I see flaws in that plan."
Another voice speaks up, though low and peaceful, from one side of the table.
"Wouldn't interrogating lord Orochimaru raise suspicions? Say, if he is indeed behind a bigger plan for war, wouldn't questioning him about it lead him to know his plan is compromised? Couldn't it, then, make him take drastic action on the country as it is?"
Shikamaru looks at Aburame Shibi, at Shino as his advisor, and nods in agreement.
"I have thought of that already, which is why I propose we move along with lady Uchiha's plan first and foremost," he admits. "With the necessary precautions, it would be successful."
Sasuke thinks he's had enough of this.
"No," Sasuke forces out, and the whole room falls silent again. Just like that, Shikamaru's fears have been thrown at his face once more. "And I will not repeat myself. My wife has not the skills to finish the job thoroughly. It bears too much risk."
"My lord, she will be taught how to infiltrate and spy from the inside by the Hyūga, and possibly taught how to extract information and fool the enemy by the Yamanaka. Rock Lee, though not present, is your most adept Samurai Captain, and I'm sure he can teach her how to defend herself as well, if the time calls for it," Shikamaru presses, even as he watches Sasuke clench and unclench his fist over the table. His dark eyes are trained on his lap and there's a downward pull to his lips, but Shikamaru doesn't let that stop him.
He understands that this is his wife they're talking about, but for all the time he has let the woman remain isolated inside the castle, he can't let this opportunity pass by. It almost seems too perfect of an opportunity to disregard like his leader is doing now.
Sasuke mulls it over his head, constantly, for the better part of a minute or two. Nobody speaks in the room, moves, or so much as bats an eyelash at the tense atmosphere that falls upon them by the second.
Sasuke feels his blood boiling inside.
How can Shikamaru, after he had refuted the option time past, bring up the topic again? It is not like him to defy him as such, much less in front of a public like this—and about such a delicate, personal topic to him, too.
Must it be, after all that he has gone through with someone like Shikamaru, that the man has a point? That, even when he won't admit it, Sasuke knows he's being blinded by the bond he shares with Sakura? Could it be, that outside of his compromised eyesight, this is actually the best option out there to lower suspicions but get fast results? Could it be, with the right training and adequate time frame, his wife can be ready for a mission he really wishes he didn't have to inflict upon her?
But would it be inflicted, really, if she was the one who proposed the idea to begin with? For Sasuke to spend years trying to keep her from harm's way, only to send her into the lion's den for the sake of his country, would be compromising everything he believes in and has believed in for years.
He has the urge to pull at his hair and scream until his throat turns sore and wasted, and until he can't see straight anymore.
Instead, he lifts his eyes from his lap and fixes Shikamaru a blank stare, his lips moving but his mind unable to catch up with what he's saying—with what he's agreeing to.
"Those who see reason in the Nara clan's plan over the Yamanaka's, raise your hand."
The Aburame, Akimichi, Nara, Hyūga, and Inuzuka clans raise their hands, palm out and elbow on the table. Even Naruto, who has been strangely quiet during this whole ordeal, raises his hand.
Only the Yamanaka and Uchiha clan heads stay put, but the decision has been made.
Sasuke nods and stands, and everyone else follows thereafter.
"Very well, then this is what we will agree on," he announces, then points at a few clans with his head. "Lord Inoichi and Lord Hiashi, bring me a clan member of your choosing as soon as possible. Training will start with your arrival."
And just like that, in the matter of minutes and against his better judgement, his wife's fate has been struck and locked down by the circumstances of his country.
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She doesn't know how long she's been walking but, eventually, she's met with a fork in the road. A wall faces her head on, there's a hole in the rock to the left and a hole in the rock to the right.
She has, for the umpteenth time, the sudden urge of forgetting this and going back the long walk she has already done. If she had walked such a long way, and now there's a fork, how much more does she have to walk to get somewhere in this underground tunnel?
Yet, it is because she has walked so much already that something in her doesn't let her turn back around. She can't go back now; she must press forward. This seems too important, too significant and elaborate in the way it's set up, to mean nothing in the end—it must lead somewhere just as equally important, if not even more so.
On a whim, she chooses the path on the right and starts walking, torch leading the way down the dry, suffocatingly hot corridor.
By this point, she can't tell how much time has passed, and it's so unbelievably hot inside these walls that she doesn't dare notice the moment her legs start moving faster, losing their hesitance.
It seems like it's been forever when she finally finds herself in front of a door—or a latch, a trap, or a small compartment, really—on top of stone, hand-made stairs. It rests in a oblique angle over her head, not necessarily over it but not directly in front of her.
She walks up the uneven steps and leans her ear to the door, trying to decipher what could possibly be on the other side, but it's to no avail. The door is probably too thick for any sound to pass through.
She places the torch against a corner of the cave, careful so as to not extinguish the flame—the only flame she has—and grabs the handle of the trap door with both hands.
Pushing outward, it gives way slowly, and she lets it hang open as she tries to hang on to something so she can hoist herself up.
At first, all she can see are vines and bushes, and nothing more than that. It's as if this trap door has been purposely hidden with flora so as to hide it from outside, prying eyes. With one hand, she parts them slowly only to see more forest.
Sakura gets out of the tunnel when she deems it safe to and looks around. The sun's position indicates late afternoon, maybe one or two hours before the sunset. It sinks into the pit of her stomach, with a startling realisation, if this was such a good idea to begin with—just how long had she been walking already?
The only small reassurance she has is that she coiled back as much of the rug as she could, and she closed the latch with a lock from the inside, so there's no way that, even if Kabuto grows suspicious and wants to go down there to the tunnels, he'll be able to do that.
That's the only thing that keeps her going, and the only thing that, when she suddenly hears noises from far ahead, drives her to take a few steps forward and out of the hideout. Only to find that, much to her astonishment, she's on a hill overlooking her home's prosperous city limits. Konoha's city limits.
The tall, familiar gates and the guards stationed far ahead can only mean one thing: she's outside of Konoha.
She has to go back.
She has to go back because she's outside the border and she can't be seen outside. There have been sightings of rogue Samurai lately between each town, and she can't risk venturing into the wild just because, especially because of all the missing people she has heard of. Especially because she's the Shogun's wife, and many are trying to overthrow said Shogun in any way possible now with the new threat of war making itself more apparent—and, Sakura thinks, killing his wife would just about do the job.
If that wasn't enough reason to go back, she's not ready, she hasn't brought enough supplies, and it's overall too risky for her to do this alone, with nothing to defend herself, no knowledge of life outside Konoha's borders, and with the sun setting in a few hours.
So she turns around and securely closes the door behind her. She grabs the still-lit torch, practically almost runs back where she came from, and comes up to the fork again.
If she turns left, it will lead her to Kabuto's hut. She takes a step toward the left, but hesitates.
She tightens her hold on the torch as she forces herself to walk in that direction, but it won't happen as much as she tries.
Because, how will she know Kabuto's not back yet? Or that he hasn't found the rug slightly tampered with? He'll know and he'll come looking for her. And when he finds the door locked from the inside, he'll at least be waiting for her right outside. If he's there, he'll find her, and the worst thing is that she has absolutely no way of knowing that he has indeed returned, or is still outside buying supplies—if that's even what he's truly doing. There's no way of knowing what awaits her if she returns; after all, she had only planned this exploration to take a few minutes at most, but it has probably been hours.
If she turns right, however, would she find herself outside Konoha again, or would she find something else? Something far more salient, far too good to pass now? Would she find evidence that could incriminate Kabuto, the Council, Orochimaru, or anyone else who might be plotting another war in the country? Would she find something that could end this, once and for all?
She takes her foot back, looks from the left to the right, and shines the flame toward her new goal.
As risky as it sounds, she's too far in to not go see what lies at the end of the tunnel. She wouldn't be able to sleep knowing she didn't go.
Sakura turns right and walks only for about three minutes before she finds the end of the pathway—this time, thankfully faster than the other road she had taken.
There are a few steps here too, and a slightly smaller door at the top. She walks up the stone steps, places the torch against a corner, and holds the handle with both hands.
Taking a deep breath, she opens the door carefully only to find bushes and vines once more covering the exit.
She's about to feel disappointment creeping up her heart when it hits her. It's an explosion of sound and colours when she parts the foliage with one hand, and her eyes take in everything with greater detail after being underground in the dark for at least, she thinks, an hour.
Then, she starts making connections.
There are people everywhere outside, and when she sees a glimpse of a familiar, customary armour, she knows it's from Konoha's guards; which can only mean she's outside of the castle, yet still inside Konoha's walls. She's inside the village, yet outside the castle's heavily-guarded, maze-like fortress.
By now, the excitement she feels is greater than the fear of being caught.
How many days had she dreamt of this? Of leaving, for even just a moment, and going back to her old life? How many days had she dreamt of Sasuke letting her visit her family and friends, even if only for important events a few, scarce times a year? Too many to count, she thinks.
Sakura reaches back into the tunnel, grabs the torch, and extinguishes its flames in a small puddle of water beside her.
She steps outside, closing the door behind her slowly. If she ever wishes to come back, she has to know where to come back from, so she makes sure to give her surroundings more than one simple glance.
The guards stationed in front of her, giving her their backs, shouldn't be an easy task to overcome, but she'll have to. She has to. She can't go back now.
So, defenseless, with no weapons, no idea where she is, and raw adrenaline keeping her going, she does what's best right now and waits. The hood over her distinguishable hair rests heavy on her head as she lets time go by, but it's not for too long.
Only a few minutes after she decides to wait, she sees the guards leave as they switch positions for the night shift. And before she can even entertain the idea of a pair of new guards arriving, she steps out of the cleverly-placed bushes and securely wraps the cloak over her body, pulling the hood that covers her hair and part of her face down even more so.
As she walks away undetected, she smiles to herself in victory.
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The first thing she does is visit her mother.
It's a given. It has been too long, and she feels her feet taking her to a familiar side of the village before she has to stop completely.
Her mother married again, which means she has most likely changed the house. But where? Going around until she sees her mother would be the stupidest thing she could possibly do right now, and so she has to force herself to ask a local vendor for her uncle, a respectable man, she hopes, in the small town.
The man looks more bored than anything else, and he stares at the dying sun over the horizon instead of looking at her as he answers.
Sakura thanks him and, eventually—at last, thankfully—finds the house described to her. It's small and cozy and decorated by her mother's favourite flowers, which is all she needs to know the vendor wasn't lying.
She stands outside the door for the longest time, debating on whether to enter at all. But she's come so far—so much further than she had ever anticipated from going under Kabuto's floor earlier that day. She's come so far that, when the door is flung open in front of her eyes, she doesn't dare turn back and run.
She stands her ground and watches as her mother opens the door with a bucket of water for the small garden, which she drops as soon as she recognises her daughter under the hood; those eyes of hers are an exact replica of her mother's, and no other eyes rival the hue in theirs.
There's a moment of silence in which they stare at each other, no words exchanged, no pleasantries, no cries full of abandon. Just a stretched-on stillness as they take each other in for the first time in years.
Her mother, though, is quick to react first and immediately looks around. Sakura's glad she understands that, due to her attire and lack of guards around her, this has not necessarily been approved by her husband.
She lets her inside quickly and Sakura sighs in relief, takes off her cloak, and hugs her mother in a tight embrace.
"Oh, how I've missed you!" Her mother exclaims, choking on her words after she gets a hold of herself inside the safer confines of her home. "My dearest, it has been too long, and with that last letter so many months ago, I thought I was never to see you again!"
By now, after all this time, she lets her shoulders sink and feels herself relax in her mother's familiar embrace; something, she thinks, she has missed more than she would ever admit. By the time her mother lets go of her enough to look over her features in the concerned, typical way mothers care for their young, she feels tears already staining her cheeks.
"Look at you! You look even more grown, more beautiful, more..." Her mother trails off, placing her thumbs over Sakura's cheeks and drying her tears as they fall. "More like a woman."
Sakura can barely understand her in her stupor, but she smiles and laughs in between her mother's words anyway.
Her mother touches her hair, flowing behind her after she takes off her hood, and she smiles in awe. "And your hair is so long now, too."
"Yes, it is," she laughs again, though she barely knows why. "I'm so glad to see you, mother."
Mebuki smiles, but it's sadder now. It's slow, and heartbreaking, and like she knows this shouldn't be happening.
"Oh, Sakura, how are you seeing me? I was under the impression you were not supposed to leave the castle," she almost but whispers now, and then, just like that, she asks what she wishes she didn't have to. "Did you escape?"
Sakura moves away from her mother's arms, takes off her cloak, and sits on one of the chairs in the living area. She looks down at her lap as she speaks, her voice bleak and small as if someone, somewhere looking for her, could hear her somehow.
"I may have found a way to sneak out," she confesses.
"Sakura! You know I want to see you just as much as you want to see me, but this is not the way," her mother exclaims, looking at her disapprovingly in a way that makes Sakura's temper flare.
"Mother, this is the only way."
"I am sure that's not true! Who knows what could happen if you get caught!"
Sakura's eyes flash something, and Mebuki stops her rant at the glint in her daughter's eyes before she speaks.
"It has been four years, and I have been unable to step foot outside all this time. I only ever wanted to see you, my old friends, and father's grave. Why is that so hard to understand? Why, when I would have been accompanied by guards, was I prohibited this small request?" She stands, her tears returning to her eyes, though this time from impotence more than glee. "I am denied this and more, so if I have to take it upon myself and risk everything, including my own life, to see you, then so be it."
"Sakura," her mother murmurs, then drags out a sigh as she paces around the common area of the house. She eventually stops walking, crosses her arms across her chest, and looks up at her. "You mustn't speak like that. Your husband is doing everything he can to protect you, I'm sure."
Sakura answers almost immediately.
"If so, he's exaggerating a bit more than necessary. I have not been able to step foot outside on my own in four years, mother. I think my actions justify the means."
Unexpectedly, her mother nods and walks up to the chair that sits opposite from Sakura. She looks into her eyes with one of the most serious, sincere looks she has ever seen her wear, and agrees with her.
"You must take precautions, then. If you're going to make this a recurrence, you must be smart about it. One small mistake, and I never see you again; worse, you'll be punished for such behaviour."
"I agree. But first, I need to tell you how I got here to begin with."
Her mother squares her shoulders and leans forward, urging Sakura to tell her everything.
"The castle's healer lives within the castle grounds, but away from the building itself, past a small forest. I went inside his residence today without looking for it, but found a secret door on the floor, with tunnels that stretch on for minutes on end. I got here by one of those tunnels, yet now I fear that, were I to go back, I will find my healer waiting for me."
"You fear you will be exposed, then," her mother answers, sighing and shaking her head. "Sakura, my dear, it is almost completely dark outside."
Sakura looks outside one of the windows and confirms that, indeed, the sun has long set and the sky is now in a temporary state of dusk. Soon, it will be completely dark.
"Forget about the healer. Sakura, do you know where your husband is?"
Sakura gasps, and like a timer ready to go off, she stands and runs to the door in a newfound state of panic. Without a second thought, she runs to the door of the house in hopes of sprinting to the tunnels and getting back to the castle before he finds out she's missing.
"Sakura!" Her mother yells, then hauls her back by the arm before she can step outside in the streets.
Her mother's saying something, but all she can picture is the face of her husband when he finds she's not in the bedroom, in the castle, or outside in the gardens; she sees his face, feels his confusion, and imagines his rage as he prepares for the worst.
Would he think she's been taken from him? Kidnapped as a way to take revenge on him and start a war again?
God, how could she be so, so stupid? She shouldn't have stayed away for this long when she didn't even know where he'd been headed to for the day. Maybe if she'd known he had gone to Naruto's, this would be fine and she wouldn't be in this state. But he could have been back at any moment and she hadn't thought of that.
She'd had the opportunity to go back to her mother, and she had taken it without thinking it through.
Her mother's taking her back to the chair she had been sitting on before, but Sakura doesn't notice.
All she sees is Sasuke. All she thinks about is Sasuke.
Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.
"Sakura, look at me!"
Her palms are sweaty and she hears her heartbeat beating wildly inside her chest, but she snaps from her thoughts enough to focus on her mother looking down on her.
"Honey, it's all going to work out, you'll see. I need you to calm down so we can work our way through this, yes?"
Sakura nods, but she lets out a shaky breath at the same time, and she doesn't seem so sure of herself at the moment.
"Good. Now, you have to go back. Your husband may be looking for you as we speak, so this is something you have to do. And as soon as you get to that hidden door, you wait and listen for any movements on the floor above you, and you get out as soon as it is safe to do so, you hear me? You run back to your room, and if your husband is waiting for you, tell him you were taking a night stroll around the forest you told me about, got it?"
Sakura blinks a few times at all this information, and her mother grabs onto her shoulders and shakes her for good measure.
"Got it, Sakura? This is not a game. I need you to be more careful next time, and you come straight to me again. I will always be waiting now that I know you may come back looking for me any second."
Sakura shakes off her mother's hands and stands, giving her one final embrace.
"And when you come back, next time, we will go see your father," she whispers into her hair, giving her a kiss on her temple. "I promise."
She sounds so frail, so honest, that Sakura can only do so much as nod once more and smile into her shoulder, not knowing if there's really going to be a next time.
With this, she grabs her cloak, hides her body and face, and exits the house with less confidence than what she should have.
.
.
.
Sakura steps out of the closet after changing clothes at the same time Sasuke steps out of the bathroom, donning nothing but a towel around his shoulders to soak up the stray drops still falling from his damp hair.
She looks at him before realising the state he's in, and immediately looks away and walks toward the dresser inside the wall in order to grab what she needs for the bathroom; after the day she's had, she very well deserves a bath.
She'd stepped into the bedroom just in time to see the bathroom door closed and hear her husband taking a bath inside. It had given her just enough time to compose herself and change out of her dirty attire.
Now, she releases the breath she's been holding ever since getting inside the tunnels again. Thankfully, Kabuto had not been back yet, but she won't be as lucky the next time she decides to behave so recklessly.
Closing the dresser with a set of underwear in hand, she gasps audibly as she feels a set of arms closing around her middle, and then a warm, hard body pressing against her back.
Sakura feels a hand dipping beneath the loose shirt she wears, and she has to hold on to the dresser in front of her so as to not fall. Sometimes, she forgets just how much her body responds to Sasuke's touch.
"How long are you going to keep this up?" She hears him whisper behind her ear, and she has to get a hold of herself to reorganize her thoughts and realize what he's referring to.
She smiles and closes her eyes when his hand slides up to one breast.
"Three days is not a long time, Sasuke-kun."
He squeezes her hard, and she forces herself to stay quiet and unresponsive.
"Three days is more than enough to drive any man mad," he bites back, pressing himself closer and pressing her against the wall as a consequence.
For a moment, she forgets how she had, just minutes ago, been outside the castle; she forgets how she had lied and deceived him, sneaked around and got her way, and risked her life under his nose. She forgets everything as she feels him behind her, hard and ready for her, desperate for what she's been denying him for days.
But she's been denying him this because he's stubborn, arrogant, and doesn't care to listen to her ideas. Infiltrating the Council in his place has been one of her best ideas, and he doesn't see it.
So if he doesn't want to give her the freedom she so craves, then she has to find it for herself. Be it by escaping from time to time and defying him behind his back, or by asking him directly like she has done before. If she's careful, nothing should go wrong and he shouldn't find out of her escapades.
With this in mind, she gives in and lets herself melt into his strong arms, turning into a weak mess of limbs as soon as his other hand dips under her clothes and moves closer to where she wants him to be.
"If I had known you were this desperate, I would have helped you sooner," she breathes out, moving her hips against his greedy hand, wanting nothing more than for him to finish her against his body, against this wall.
And, suddenly, just like that, he takes his hands back and turns her around, looking down at her with something darker than she has seen in him in a long, long time.
"Where were you?" He asks, but it's more of an accusation than a genuine question. It's the distrust in his eyes which makes her look away.
"Look at me, Sakura," he demands, and holds her chin in his fingers. Although he's not forcing her to look, the grasp is firm, and his voice is firmer. She meets his gaze and ignores the need to swallow.
"What? I've been here the whole day, Sasuke-kun," she says, never straying from his calculating, stormy eyes.
"I came home more than an hour ago," he admits. "Where were you?"
She understands now why he would be confused of her whereabouts. After all, she always makes sure she's present for his arrival one way or the other. Not seeing her there to greet him home had probably raised some red flags.
"I was taking a stroll around the forest, and then I sat by the gardens to watch the sunset," she says, hoping that she conveys the meaning she's trying to put behind her empty words. She moves her hands up and down his chest as she speaks for added measure. "Why are you so concerned? Where could I possibly go?"
Sasuke looks down at her and debates on whether to tell her about the role she's bound to take soon. He struggles in his mind to tell her now of the Council, of what she will have to do, of how her idea will be coming true. But as he looks down into her green, sparkling eyes full of affection, he decides there can be another time for that.
Right now, right here, he needs her. He would never admit it out loud, but even if it's only been three days, he's missed her, and knowing that he has to give her up for something far greater than what is in his control only makes him want her more.
"I'm right here, Sasuke. I'm not going anywhere," she whispers, moving closer and placing a chaste kiss on his chest.
Sasuke weaves his fingers through her long hair, grabs her face, and dips his head down.
He kisses her slowly, softly; gently enough to make her moan in the moment; sweet and with so much feeling, so much emotion, that they forget the guilt they carry with them for each other.
Tonight, his heart beats and it beats for her only.